Awesome new app! (Or new to me at least.)

This is from a new app called First 5.  It's all about giving God the first 5 minutes of our day.  It even allows you to use this as your alarm each morning.   It's from the people behind Proverbs 31

Ministries.  It has become a wonderful go to place for a quick mediation to keep me focused on the right things!!!

#First5 @First5App

Each morning has an inspiring quote or focus and then it is followed by a brief message.  Right now they are going through the book of Matthew.  Check it out!!

aith & Life

Rejoice Always

On coming back up after going under, and the woman in the picture on my wall who never stopped pointing toward her Son.

Personal Reflection  ·  Philippians 4:4

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Please forgive me, Internet. I basically went under for a while. Stuff went down, and I sort of sank with it. I suppose that is life.

We talk about how we live in an imperfect world. Well, I saw that firsthand recently. But thank God this is not all we have. It is not about this world, and no one ever promised life would be easy.

What I am learning, slowly and with great effort, is to express joy in all things.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, rejoice!"

Philippians 4:4

So here we go.

• Thank you, Lord, for all the recent events in my life that totally turned my world upside down.
• Thank you, Lord, for choosing me to experience hardship so that I can learn total dependence on You.
• Thank you, Lord, for giving me a full plate that proves You are working in my life, because no human being could possibly handle all of this alone.
• Thank you, Lord, for giving me amazing friends and family who help support me when I am down.
• Thank you, Lord, for giving me the wisdom to know when You are guiding me up a certain path. I have been walking uphill for a while now, not downhill.
• Thank you, Lord, for giving me the courage to do things differently than the world would have suggested.
• Thank you, Lord, for opening my eyes to all the things You want me to see.
• Thank you, Lord, for every good thing and every hard thing.

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I will be honest. I have not prayed a Rosary in a while. I have not really talked to Mary, our Blessed Mother, in a while either. Not that I was avoiding her, but I was sort of deeply involved with her Son. Then we moved over the summer, and I inherited some pictures of her from my mother and placed them in my room.

One of them stopped me.

She looks beautiful in it. Strikingly beautiful. Not dressed inappropriately, but adorned gracefully, like a queen. And yet her stature is completely humble. She looks almost embarrassed that I might have a picture of her in my room, as if she is quietly insisting she is not worthy of it.

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I found myself thinking about how she must have felt after Gabriel appeared to her and she responded with her beautiful, trusting yes. The Magnificat, where her soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, sounds a little bit like the feeling I get when I have made a good choice and it turns out well. Except multiplied by about a trillion.

And then I thought about what she must have felt after the Crucifixion. Was she angry at God? Did she feel betrayed? Did she feel like something had gone terribly wrong? Did she wonder, even for a moment, whether her yes had been a mistake?

I think I would have thought those things.
But looking at her picture on my wall,
I do not think she did.

I think she thought: God, You must have a good reason for this. I will wait to hear from You about what I should do next.

Yes. She is worthy of being called Blessed. She is pretty spectacular. And she never seems to want to keep my attention for herself. She always points me toward her Son. Just like at the Wedding at Cana, she will say to me: "Do whatever He tells you."

Pray for me. I will pray for you. 🙏

A Personal Blog on Faith, Life & the Journey